Aerosol valve actuators of the enclosure type generally have the enclosure base mounted onto the product container and/or onto the mounting cup of the aerosol valve on the container. Finger actuatable means on the actuator are operationally associated with the aerosol valve stem for actuating the aerosol valve and dispensing the product. The finger actuatable means may be for example a hinged finger pad integrally molded as one piece with the remainder of the actuator and extending into an opening in the upper portion of the actuator; or, may be a separate cap member on a base member, wherein the top of the cap member may be manually pushed by a finger downwardly with respect to the base to actuate the aerosol valve.
Certain products dispensed through an aerosol valve foam and expand when exposed to air, for example shaving creams and shaving gels. When actuation of the aerosol actuator dispensing these products first ceases, product remains in the product conduit inside the actuator between the aerosol valve stem and the actuator outlet. These products continue to foam and expand in the product conduit so that a small amount of foamed product exits the actuator outlet after actuation ceases. This is not only an aesthetic issue, but is also unsanitary, messy, and generally requires wiping away the foamed product outside the outlet before the next dispensing of product.
Various attempts have been made to solve the above-described “after-foaming” or “post-foaming” problem inherent in the dispensing of such products. These attempts have included providing means to block the aerosol outlet after actuation or providing space inside the actuator to absorb the foaming expansion of the product after actuation ceases. Such means have not been fully satisfactory, can be overly complex and can result in the accumulation of post-foaming product within the actuator body. Among the above attempted solutions have been the use of an actuator cap with a product dispensing opening that aligns with a product dispensing opening in the actuator base on actuation, and misaligns with the product dispensing opening in the base when actuation ceases.